When betting on the NBA or NHL Playoffs, there is always one, two, or even three teams that stand out above the rest as the betting favorites to get the job done.  These teams have proved throughout the year that they are top notch and look to be poised to take down a championship.  The odds won’t pay out incredibly well on these teams, but the betting angles on them are great, and they are definitely the most bet teams before the playoffs begin.  The key words there are “before the playoffs begin” though, because you’ll find that often times one team taking down a huge upset in the first round can completely swing the way that the betting goes.
Often times it comes in hockey betting, mainly because you’ll find that the team who enters the playoffs as a fourth seed can still be one of the favorites to win it all (possibly because of injuries or because the overall points can be so close between the top tier teams).  But, the thing is as soon as this team gets knocked off in the first round it seems that things take a complete change in the direction of how the betting is going.  While that team may be pretty close to favorites to win it all before hand, the fact that the other team just pulled off a huge upset (and probably looked good doing it) is going to sway a ton of sportsbooks to changing the odds quite a bit, and potentially even making that winning team the favorites now!
Picking the eventual champion in the NHL or NBA in terms of futures betting can be incredibly tough, mainly because of how often that big time upset of one of the favorites actually happens.  While it may not be an eight seed knocking off a one seed every time that does the job, you’ll find that a two, three, or even a strong four seed going down can throw things for a complete curveball.  These teams are the ones who are expected to seriously compete, and losing in the first round almost instantly gives attention to the team that just pulled off that upset.  The question is though, should they automatically get that love from the sports bettors?
Honestly it really depends on the situation.  If the team just came in and absolutely dominated in every aspect and pulled off impressive victories consistently, and actually looks poised to make a run, then they definitely should be.  But if it was one of those series’ where it felt like the underdog just kept pushing and pushing and gave everything that they had, then it can be a tough call overall.  You really need to evaluate the series quite a bit before making any final bets, and make sure that you do all of the research you possibly can before placing your action on that team to win the championship at the end of the day.
